Frequently Asked Questions

The following are the most frequently asked questions asked by those who hear about us for the first time.

Q. What differentiates you from other car buying services like car brokers?

A: There are may things that differentiate us from other car brokers. One is that anyone can call themselves a broker regardless of their experience in the auto industry.Authority Auto’s staff of negotiators currently have over 86 years of combined experience working inside dealers holding management positions. We know how dealers make money, how to protect you from overpaying, and how to protect you from the pitfalls of dealing with this process on your own. Two, you’ve seen this all over our website. We are extremely unique in our business model of NEVER ACCEPTING DEALER COMMISSIONS. The conventional broker gets paid an undisclosed commission from the dealer. If you run into a broker that is in need of more money when representing you, BEWARE!!! The only way to get TRUE REPRESENTATION is to work with someone who is ONLY aligned with you and will not take a penny from a dealer. If interviewing different companies to represent you, ask if they get any type of compensation from the dealer or dealer representative.

Q:How is Authority Auto different form the services available that offer free price certificates?

A: There are a few reputable companies out there that offer good pricing. The problem is that some of these companies offer prices on cars that don’t exist or “it is up to dealer discretion” whether to honor the price or not. When using the certificates, the buyer is still left on their own to navigate through the entire buying process. It will be up to the buyer to negotiate every other profit center a dealer has. The certificate might be a low price, but it’s obvious that the dealer will try to make up the profit in other areas of the sale. Authority Auto is extremely unique in the fact that we negotiate every profit center a dealer has. We prevent our client’s time from being wasted and offer tremendous peace of mind that they have an expert in their corner who is only looking out for their best interest.

Q. How do I know that Authority Auto will get me a better deal than I can get for myself?

A: We first want to acknowledge that when you are considering hiring us to represent you in this very important transaction, that you have the right to ask that question.

The short answer is that negotiating car deals is our profession and we are very good at what we do. Our experience working inside car dealerships has taught us how dealers make money, and the fact that we have been negotiating car deals every day for the last 15 years gives us the level of experience needed to provide you the upper hand in negotiating your car deal.

In order to be able to effectively negotiate a car purchase or lease, you need to know the “True Cost” of every item that needs to be negotiated. It's hard for the average buyer, who negotiates a car deal every three to four years, to know all the facts. Not knowing the facts will always make you wonder if you got the best deal. If you don't know the specific pricing in negotiating a car deal, you will base your decision on if the deal feels right. Dealerships are experts on making you feel that you are getting a good deal, even when you're not. So, most people walk away from a deal wondering if they really got the best price.

But there is an inherent conflict of interest between the dealer and buyer. Dealers are in business to maximize their profits and you are trying to save as much money as possible. Without years of experience and all the hard facts, who do you think will come out ahead?

Q: Am I getting the best deal when I have a friend that works at a dealership or a friend refers me to a dealership?

A: You can get a good deal when you are working with someone connected through a dealership. The question is; are you getting the best deal for yourself?

When there is a friendship or referral involved in a negotiation, most customers do not get the best deal. This is because the friendship gets in the way. Most customers will agree to the terms presented to them to avoid a confrontation. Most people hate confrontation and in turn will agree to the terms to avoid it. Authority Auto does not accept any type of compensation from any dealer. This enables us to negotiate on your behalf without any type of relationship getting in the way of Authority Auto achieving the best price for you.

Q: What do I have to lose by hiring Authority Auto?

A: Nothing. If you have negotiated a price and we can't beat it by at least our fee, you don't pay anything. In this case, you walk away with the peace of mind that you did get the best deal.

Authority Auto gets paid a percentage of what we save you. Therein lies our motivation. To save you as much money as possible while providing you a hassle free purchase or lease experience. This is our improve your deal service.

A: No. Working with a car broker that gets paid by the dealership creates a tremendous conflict of interest for the broker. Where is the broker's loyalty? To the dealer that pays them or to the client? Even if the broker finds a middle ground for both parties, the buyer will end up paying more than they have to.

Most brokers have spent years cultivating a relationship with their dealerships. Having spent the last thirteen years working in dealerships, we have experienced many brokers (not all) ask the dealership for a larger commission than usual when they have an opportunity to do so. If the broker is receiving a larger commission, the client's price goes up. With the commission amount not being disclosed, unfortunately, the client never knows. It is sad but true.

We at Authority Auto base our company on honesty and integrity. When you hire us, our promise is to look out for your best interests only. That is why we will never accept any type of commission from a dealer. The only thing we require of our dealers is to treat our clients respectfully and continue their excellent service after the sale.

Q: If I qualify for a Costco, AAA or Credit Union price, does that mean that I'm getting the best deal?

A: Costco, AAA and Credit Union pricing is pre—negotiated and is always a fair price, but the negotiation is incomplete. Dealers have many other avenues to make money besides the price of the car. The average consumer will agree to this pricing and drop their guard in other areas of the sale, therefore paying more money than they should on their purchase or lease. Authority Auto has negotiated lower prices than Costco, AAA and Credit Unions in the past and provides their clients with a complete negotiation covering all aspects of the sale, i.e.: vehicle price, trade in value, lease/buy rate, negotiating the best term and back end products.

A: I know the common frustration that most people go through when buying a car on their own. I am very empathetic and if I can spare people the pain, anguish and self-doubt they go through, then that is what I am committed to do. I get great satisfaction from using my knowledge and vast experience negotiating great deals to help people save money and take the misery out of the experience.

Q. What makes Authority Auto so unique?

A: There are many aspects of our service that are unique, but the most significant is that we are an advocate for the buyer, not the seller. We don't receive any compensation from the dealer or a dealer representative, so there are no conflicts of interest. Our ONLY obligation is to our client and we will turn over every stone to ensure that we achieve the best possible deal.

With traditional car brokers, the broker's income is based on whatever he wants to make on the sale. Thus, both broker and the dealer are looking out for their own best interests. When both the broker's and salesperson's income depend on how much profit they can make, it creates a tremendous conflict of interest for the customer. The only way I could truly help people and eliminate that conflict of interest, was to align Authority Auto with our clients by not accepting any dealer commissions.

At Authority Auto, our intention is always to do what is best for our clients.

A: We stand by our integrity. If we think you've got a great deal on your own, we'll tell you that and give you the comfort of knowing that we couldn't have done better. However, if we think we can improve your deal, Authority Auto will try to get a better bargain for you, taking a percentage of what we save you, up to $2,000. Our sole commitment is to make the buyer walk away knowing that this is the best deal that could have been secured, and to make it a pleasurable and easy experience.

Q. Many of your customers praise Authority Auto's customer service. What is it that you do that makes them rave?

A: We want to provide an amazing car buying experience for our customers! We don't just provide great prices. We streamline the entire process to eliminate the numerous situations that people go through that have made car buying so distasteful.

We do this by facilitating the entire process for our clients from A to Z. Here are just a few examples:

If they know what model they want, they never have to set foot in a dealership. All they do is give us a description of the make, model, color and features.

We handle getting the best price for their trade-in.

We communicate with our buyers daily and always in a gracious manner.

We go at their pace. Nothing is ever forced.

Most importantly, our clients love the fact that all the information provided is coming from us, not a salesman trying to make a commission. We will present our clients numbers before they go to look at a car, thus eliminating the need for the buyer to go to the dealer, where they fall in love with the car and later find out--after much time has been wasted--that the car costs way more than they can afford. We eliminate dealer mistakes before numbers are quoted to our clients.

We not only get them a great deal, but with our knowledge of the business, we set up our clients to be in the best position possible for when they get their next car.

If the buyer is based in Southern California where we are headquartered, we will pick up the trade-in and deliver the new vehicle to the buyer's home or office.

Q. Besides the endorsement of your clients, is there any other independent source that has reviewed your service?

A:Edmunds.com tested our service, finding out that we could indeed improve a deal they had in the works, and now endorses us to the millions of viewers of their website. Yahoo!, Fox Business, Smart Money magazine, San Fernando Valley Business Journal, the Rundown and Corvette Enthusiast have all recognized us as Consumer Advocates, among others.

Q. What do you say to people who are reluctant to pay your fee upfront?

A: A majority of our clients are happy to pay our upfront fee, and they are relieved and excited that our company exists to help them. There are a few clients who are reluctant to pay our upfront fee and we invite those people to use our Improve Your Deal Service, for which there is no initial fee. Those clients can go through the process of locating the exact car they want and negotiating the best possible deal they can. When they finish their negotiation and FEEL that they have the best deal, they present it to us. We only charge a percentage of what we save them. If we can't beat their deal, there is no fee after we do the research and the client can complete the deal they negotiated with the confidence that we reviewed and acknowledge it really is the best deal that can be secured.

We have earned many loyal clients after seeing how much we beat their best deal by and realized how much of their own personal time was wasted. Those people end up as repeat customers, paying us the upfront fee on their next deal, and also become a great source of referrals.